Demons & Wizards

This side project featuring Hansi Kursch
(Blind Guardian)
and Jon Schaffer
(Iced Earth)
had been brewing for some time, and finally became official in 2000,
releasing a hotly-anticipated album that appears to have met
fans' expectations, as it combined several elements of both of the
aforementioned bands (particularly the latter).
After several years of speculation about a second album,
the band announced in 2005 that indeed a new album was in the works,
and that album, Touched By The Crimson King, has now been released.